Have yourself an energy-efficient Christmas

You can now dim or change the colour of your Christmas tree lights from your phone, thanks to a new LED light chain from Osram – part of the Lightify range of smartphone-controlled products.

LED Christmas lights have been around for a while, often characterised by their blueish colour in comparison to the warm orangey glow of traditional filament-based lights.

With Osram's colour-changing lights that's no longer an issue – the company says you can pick from any of 16 million different colour tones.

The German Energy Agency estimates you’ll save around €30 by replacing 10 metres of old-fashioned Christmas lights with LEDs for six weeks. So, if you accept those rather liberal estimates of how many lights people hang up over the festive period, and for how long, the €90 starter kit should pay for itself in about three Christmases.

Of course, there’s no reason you can’t use the lights at other times of year too – the colour changes to match any occasion, and they’re just as happy outside as in.